Smart Shopper: $13 a Bottle on Bonny Doon's Demeter Certified Muscat (Close Out Sale)

A dry muscat - for $160 a case! And biodynamic to boot. Bonny Doon's got the goods. See here.

Dessert Wine for Your Valentine - Part 1

Got dessert wine? I've just returned from Europe where they are so much more common, and am trying to get into thinking about them as part of a meal once a week.

Surprisingly, there are quite of few of them out there from the organic vintners. Here are some of my favorites:

1. For the Lover Who Likes Pretty Labels with Grapes 
*Frey Vineyards - Late Harvest Zinfandel ($24)

I don't write that much about Frey Vineyards' wine as they are no added sulfite, a category that is not of very much interest to me as the wines can be unstable. On the other hand, when it comes to dessert wines (where stability is not such an issue), Frey Vineyards has a lovely Late Harvest Zinfandel that is a sweet dessert wine.

It's grown in beautiful Redwood Valley (Mendocino County).

It comes in an elegant bottle and I think any Valentine would be happy to receive this along with some chocolate.







2. For the Lover Who Likes Strange Bottle Art
Bonny Doon - Vinferno ($20/$216)

Zinferno is a white dessert wine from Bonny Doon's biodynamic vineyards in Arroyo Seco. Made from grenache blanc and roussanne (two white Rhone varietals) it's certified biodynamic.











3. For the Lover Who Has Everything or For the Wine Geek
Wilridge Winery Estate Vintage Dessert Red ($20/$216)




For something really different, varietal wise, turn to Northwest producer Wilridge for a port made from Portuguese varietals Zweigeist, Tourega Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cao and Souzao.









4. Ceago Soul of Syrah Port ($28)

This is a combination of Syrah, Colombard, and Viognier from a biodynamic vintner in Lake County who is one of the Fetzer clan.

Ceago sits on the shores of Clear Lake. It's a beautiful destination winery with a gorgeous tasting area, beautiful estate, and stunning lakeside views - well worth a visit.

They used to also have a Late Harvest Semillon dessert wine but I couldn't find it any more.

5. Yorkville Cellars Sweet Malbec ($22)

This was invented in Mendocino by this iconoclastic, wonderful winery where they grow all seven of the noble varieties of Bordeaux, including Malbec, and sell them as Bordeaux blends but also as single varietals, so you can get to know each one.

This is a semi sweet effervescent rose and should be served chilled. (Personally I think it's sweet.) Previous vintages won Double Gold at the Mendocino Wine Competition.

6. Bonterra Muscat ($14)

Mendo organic powerhouse Bonterra makes a pretty sweet Muscat which can serve as an aperitif or with dessert. It's not a dessert wine per se, so it's not in the "contemplation wine" category, but it is a sweet way to end a meal.

*7. McFadden Vineyard is coming out with a new dessert wine this year - a late harvest Riesling which did very well at the SF Chronicle Competition, getting Best in Class last month. I'll post more about it when I receive a bottle (coming soon). If you want to go ahead and order it yourself, get in touch with McFadden Vineyards where John Cesano will get you all connected.

* = Pam's picks

Sept. 21 Grenache Day!

In honor of Grenache Day, a number of U.S. wineries have organized festivities from Santa Rosa to Paso Robles.

For those of you unfamiliar with grenache, the occasion is a great time to get acquainted with the wonderful wine. A lighter red, less full bodied than a Cabernet or Pinot Noir, it's often an everyday wine in Spain and France.

In honor of this great grape, find all the best organic and biodynamic selections from California in this post from 2011 right here (under $20) and over $20.

Featured are selections from Beckmen, Qupe, Tablas Creek, Horse and Plow (old vines, dry farmed - from Testa - one of my faves). A case of the latter runs $270 (at the case price) or $25 a bottle.

[Bonny Doon, despite much ballyhoo and its position as leading the charge for Grenache Day, does not have an organically farmed Grenache, alas. (It used to, but switched sources).]

Here's more about the festivities. Of the wineries listed on the release there, only Qupe and Tablas Creek are among those offering organically grown grenache. Qupe will be having special tastings in its tasting room in Santa Barbara County and Tablas will be celebrating in Paso Robles.

Grenache is associated with the former Aragon
whose former territory is shown above

You can read more about the grape on the Tablas Creek website here.

Although the Tablas Creek history, like many, claims French or Spanish origins, many now consider that Sardinia may be the source of this varietal where it is today known as Cannonau.

It has high yields and ripens late. A surprise to me - I learned on Wikipedia - it's widely grown in the San Joaquin Valley. It's usually blended in France with Syrah and Mourvedre and it constitutes the bulk (80%) of the famed Chateauneuf de Pape.

So find a bottle - go for the Horse and Plow before it runs out (this would be the most historic old vine choice) - or the Qupe - and raise a glass to this lovely light red!

Italy in Paso? A Mille Grazie for Giornata

Brian and Stephy Terrizzi

Italian wine in California for years has meant Zinfandel. But Zinfandel plays almost no part in wines in Italy.

There the big red grapes are Nebbiolo (which makes Barolo and Barberesco), Dolcetto, Aglianico, Sangiovese (which is the grape in Chianti), and international varieties (Cabernet, etc.) along with others.

Experimenters here in California have cultivated Cal-Italian varieties - see cal-ital.org for a list - but without hitting many home runs.

Among the organic producers, Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon did Malvasia, Dolcetto and Nebbiolo (which he is only offering library vintages of now) but seems to have backed out of all (except Muscat).

Pavi wines in Napa also offers a few great Italian varietals - organically grown Dolcetto (a medium-to-light bodied red wine) and Pinot Grigio. But for the most part, growing and making the big Italian reds have been abandonned.

Along comes Giornata, the brainchild of Brian and Stephy Terrizzi, in Paso Robles.

Paso Robles is a region famous for its Zins - and there are very few organic producers in the area (Castoro, Lone Madrone, Ambyth, and Rhone-growing Tablas Creek).

This makes the Terrizzis all that much more unique in the region, which they came to after visiting a nursery in Santa Rosa to find Nebbiolo vines (rarely grown in California), which lead them to a unique vineyard here in the Paso area.

They were astonished to visit the Luna Matta vineyard here, one of only three sites growing nebbiolo. The owners had no market for the grapes. They were happy to let the Terrizzis tend them and later buy the grapes.

The Terrizzis were excited - they'd found calcium in them thar limestone hills - which they say is a close match to the soils of Piedmont where Nebbiolo excels. Nebbiolo famously likes fog (the word Nebbiolo comes from the word "nebbia" which means fog in Italian.) The vineyard is located not far from the Templeton gap in the hills that passes cooling marine influences along.

The Terrizzi's are growing certified organic Nebbiolo ($40) in Luna Matta vineyard, which became certified organic last year. They also produce a Sangiovese ($30) and an Aglianico ($30).

The couple are a unique partnership - she's the vineyard manager and he's the winemaker - which seems like the perfect combination (and one I haven't come across before).

Stephy, a graduate of Santa Rosa Junior College with a degree in viticulture, worked in Napa previously. She grew up on an organic farm in Wisconsin and is a passionate local expert in Paso on organic viticulture, sharing her knowledge with locals. She is also a certified master sommelier and conducts wine tastings locally. She is committed to polycultural approaches and growing her own family's food on the property. The Luna Matta vineyard also has an extensive walnut grove.

Brian, a graduate of Fresno State, in enology, also studied winemaking in Tuscany, and toured Italian wineries - including on Sicily, where he has distant relatives. The two love Italian wine and decided to make them their professional passion.

Read more about them in this recent Wine & Spirits magazine article - or just check them out in person. Visitors (by appointment) are welcome.

Their wines are available from their web site at: http://www.giornatawines.com. You can also find some of them at Arlequin Wine Merchants in SF. The organic ones are those from the Luna Matta vineyard, pictured above.

I for one look forward to visiting their vineyard soon!

Bonny Doon in Photos

For those of you who drink Bonny Doon's wines, or enjoy Randall Grahm's perspectives and dazzling marketing, or may just be heading to Santa Cruz, here's a virtual tour of the Bonny Doon tasting room and restaurant, which occupy a large warehouse-y space in a little gourmet ghetto in Santa Cruz.

 

Santa Cruz Tasting Room Scene: The Organics Among Them

As I mentioned just a short bit earlier, I finally got to Bonny Doon's tasting room and restaurant in Santa Cruz last week - a hip, trendy spot with lots of fun wine graphics and ambience. I was there on a mission - to visit "mainstream bohemian" wine mecca Bonny Doon as well as to answer the question, hopefully once and for all, as to which Bonny Doon wines actually are organically grown (having failed to find answers via traditional channels - i.e. calling and emailing).

Part 2 of the quest answered (in this here post). And now onto the next frontier - visiting Bonny Doon and the Other Wineries with Organically Grown Wines in the vicinity. Turns out Bonny Doon's location is now a little Mecca village of its own - with several other winery tasting room adjacent in the same shopping/warehouse area.

The two of interest to The Organically Inclined are Silver Mountain with three organically grown wines (now) and Vine Hill, which will be offering its first certified organically grown wines in 2013.

Here are the winery tasting rooms in photos.

Silver Mountain

From the Pinot region of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Silver Mountain offers the following organically grown wines:

• 2007 Pinot Noir Miller Hill Vineyard ($38)
• 2007 Pinot Noir Estate ($38)
• Chardonnay Estate (not listed on website)

The winery/vineyard in the Santa Cruz mountains is open 12-5 on Saturdays (or other times by appointment). The Santa Cruz tasting room is open 12-5 Thursday through Sunday.

Vine Hill

Starting in 2013, Vine Hill will be releasing organically grown wines (now aging in the barrel). Stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy these photos of the Vine Hill tasting room, around the corner from Silver Mountain and Bonny Doon.

Bonny Doon: The Definitive Organic Versus Not Organic List?

Last weekend marked my first trip to Bonny Doon, the mothership of Santa Cruz wineries. I wanted to get to the bottom of what has been a difficult quest - to understand exactly which wines were sourced from organic grapes (because, despite its green-friendly image, many of its wines are not).

I have repeatedly called and emailed the winery for answers, but haven't gotten any responses. Since I was traveling in the area with friends, I decided an in person trip to the tasting room might be the best approach to getting answers. At least the bottles might have certification seals.

After a long and complicated Q and A process with tasting room staff, the "final" tally of organically grown wines (100% certified grapes), as best as can be determined by tasting room staff, is as follows:

Biodynamic
Whites
• Albarino Ca del Solo (2009 only; 2010 vintage is not)
• Grenache Blanc (2009 only)
• Le Cigare Blanc (white Rhone blend of Grenache Blanc and Roussanne) (2009)
• Muscat Ca del Solo (2009)
• Paso Robles Viognier (sourced from Chequera)
• Vinho Grinho Ca del Solo

Reds
• Dolcetto Ca del Solo (current release - 2007)
• Nebbiolo Ca del Solo (current release - 2007)
• Syrah from Bien Nacido X Block (all)

Dessert
• Vinferno (dessert wine from Grenache Blanc and Roussanne) (2008)
• Le Vol des Anges (dessert wine from Roussanne) (2007)

In transition to Biodynamic:
• Imagine (a Freisa/Sangiovese cuvee)

In the future
Look for Alamo Creek sourced Syrah.

So less than half of Bonny Doon's output is organic/biodynamic - most is not.

What is not (100%) organically sourced: Cigare wines (including the Vin Gris rose), Grenache, Carignane, Vino Rosso, Contra, Rose, Moscato, Riesling, Mon Doux Mourvedre, Viognier Port, Cuvee ET and more.

This one is sourced from Biodynamic grapes and has a Demeter seal on the front label

This one still has the water crystal image but is not sourced from Biodynamic grapes and does not have the Demeter seal on the label

Of note: the Albarino that is NOT biodynamic still carries the crystal on the cover, which is a symbolic analysis typically associated with biodynamics. There is a danger in using this kind of imagery for this meaning, when, in fact, not all the grapes inside are biodynamic. It might be good for Bonny Doon to think this through. I, for one, am tired of seeing biodynamic imagery extended to non-biodynamic wines (Paul Dolan uses more overt biodynamic symbols as branding - three cowhorns - when in fact the wines they apply the symbols to are not biodynamic versus Cowhorn Winery - a brand where every wine is always biodynamic).

We need that clear labeling of "Made from Organic (or Biodynamic) Grapes" on the front of every bottle to be mandatory so it's simple for everyone. For now, check the seals!

Holiday Wine Discount Deals

The emails are flying fast and furious - with some good deals in them thar digital doodoo!

Don't miss out on chances to buy organically grown wines at great discounts:


1. DASHE CELLARS, OAKLAND


On these dates only - Nov. 14-21: 25% off on cases (mixed or singles)

code DCPF25


The organic offerings include:

Dashe - McFadden Rieslings (organic) (2010 and 2011)
http://www.dashecellars.com/shop/Riesling

Dashe - Heart Arrow Zinfandel (biodynamic)
http://www.dashecellars.com/shop/Zinfandel/2010-Zinfandel-Heart-Arrow-Ranch

(I don't advise getting Dashe's Thanksgiving bundle as it includes mostly non-organically grown wines).

One of the great plusses about Dashe - they are right here in Oakland so you can drop by and pick up the wines yourself - no shipping charges.

2. BONNY DOON, SANTA CRUZ

Bonny Doon is running three special deals - choose from different bundles - or packs, as they call them.

Pack 1 - 4 wines for $80

The sparkling Moscato is a great aperitif or goes well with the meal or dessert.

The Clos de Gilroy is a grenache, a red on the lighter side (and one of my personal favorite varietals) that pairs well with turkey, ham, or other fare. But it is not whole-ly organic (partially).

The Muscat is not your usual muscat and is definitely on the dry, dry side (not sweet). It comes from the Italian moscato giallo grapes, a yellow muscat found in northeast Italy.

Vinferno is clearly a sweet wine and great for dessert.

Pack 2 - 4 wines for $90

I am not sure if the following are organically grown (pending winery response): This pack includes a new sparkling Riesling (again, a great aperif or accompaniment to the meal), a viognier (light white), a carignane/mourvedre blend (medium bodied red) (might not be fully organic - to be confirmed pending winery notification), and a light port (viognier with added eau de vie and raw grape spirit (also unknown if this is certified organic).

There's also a Holiday Brunch pack - 5 wines for $78

This one includes:

• a nonalcoholic grenache, which can be drunk as it or mixed with sparkling water.

• a hard sparkling cider, which is a blend of apples (51%), pears (40%) and quince (9%)

• a rose (70% grenache and 30% cinsault)

and the aforementioned dry (yellow) muscat and grenache blend.

In addition, Bonny Doon is offering free shipping on orders over $125.

3. AMAPOLA CREEK, SONOMA


Amapola Creek is offering free shipping on any order of 6 or more bottles - offer good until 11.23.11.


All of their estate grown wines are certified organic. (They offer a Monteo Rosso Zinfandel which is not estate grown). 


Their estate grown wines include a new Rhone blend of grenache and syrah (Cuvee Alis), Syrahs, Cabernet, and Zinfandels. 

Hurray - It's Back - Grenache from Bonny Doon

Bonny Doon has just released more Clos de Gilroy! Hurray! I thought maybe they were discontinuing it, because it was gone from their web site, but now there's a new release.

There are very few $20 or under organic or biodynamic grenaches from the U.S.  - and this is one...

Here's the list I have going of others under $20.